Keep your comments comming. I will read them from the Olympus of one who finished the whole thing and enjoyed it.

--Previous Message-- : Yes. I found Florence's flight, capture, and rescue, : with the subsequent dismissal of Richards, the most : memorable incident in the early part of the novel. : I'm not sure yet that Dombey is exactly the villain of : the piece, but he is certainly a cold and unfeeling : man, at least to the saintly Florence (who reminds me : a bit of Esther in Bleak House). : : : : --Previous Message-- : : Since Guille is finished and Sterling is way ahead of : me, I'm going to post as I read. I'm only around a : hundred pages in. : : So far I have found the book very hard to get into. : The other day I was annoyed by the repetition of : names. Mrs. Chick, Miss Tox, Mrs. Chick, Miss Tox, : Lousia, Paul, Mr. Dombey, blah, blah, blah. : : I looked and saw that the book in print is 1028 pages : and my heart sank. I had no idea how long it was. : : I did, however, read a customer review which : interested me. It described Dombey as a very every day : sort of villain, not malicious, but cold, unfeeling, : and single-minded. I like that. : : I enjoyed what I read this morning a little more. It : was mostly about Florence's getting lost and the : subsequent dismissal of Richards. : : :